(CNN) — A Democratic member of the House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection stressed Sunday that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about text messages sent by Secret Service officials on January 5 and 6, 2021.
“One would assume they had done everything possible to preserve those records, to analyze them, to determine what kind of things went right or went wrong that day and their practices and procedures. And, you know, we are looking into this, that’s why we’re subpoenaing them,” Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“We want to make sure that we understand the bottom line, like, where are these text messages? Can they be recovered? And we’ve subpoenaed them because they’re legal records that we need to see for the committee,” she added.
The comments come as the select committee zeroes in on erased text messages from the US Secret Service sent on January 5 and 6, 2021, shortly after they were requested by oversight officials investigating the agency’s response to the US Capitol riot, according to a letter given to the January 6 committee and first obtained by CNN.
Luria was referring to a subpoena from the committee to the Secret Service — the first time the panel has publicly done so for an executive branch agency.
The letter, which was originally sent to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, says the text messages were erased from the system as part of a device-replacement program after the watchdog asked the agency for records related to its electronic communications.
While the letter does not say whether the DHS watchdog believes these text messages were erased intentionally or for a nefarious reason, the incident adds to growing questions about the Secret Service’s response to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The Secret Service has been in the spotlight since witnesses described how former President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, angrily demanded that his detail take him to the Capitol following his speech at the Ellipse — shortly before rioters breached the building.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)